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Friday, July 29, 2011

I have been knitting, again...

Knitting has been my choice of busy work as of late. I find myself picking up the knitting needles and grabbing a ball of yarn when I am feeling stuck creatively and need to feel I am doing something productive and somewhat creative as I love the look and feel of yarn. I have a collection of unique yarn, I have collected when it is on close out sale or at the thrift store.

I picked up 3 balls of a mixed blue and white eyelash and nubby yarn combo for free at a yard sale a few weeks back. It knit up into a nice scarf. Then I started a strictly eyelash variegated 'mexicana' with bright orange, red and purple stripes. It ended up over 6 feet long. I was going to use 4 skeins but it was already long enough with three! Makes me think of the Tom Baker Dr Who. Just the other night I started another narrow lattice yarn scarf in pastels. Recently finished a jewel toned one, just before the blue & white one. The jewel tones had been sitting in a bag for months, I wanted the needles so I finished it up.

Last year I gave a bunch of scarves away at work, I had listed a few on Etsy but they didn't sell. There are some amazing fiber artists on Etsy, creating fantastic works, I wasn't surprised mine sat, unnoticed.

This past week I began to think about the disappointments I have recently encountered with my quilting/embellishment, to see if I can work past this bump in the road.

-didn't finish the Deep Spaces Challenge piece in time

-didn't get accepted into the Pacific West Quilt Show

-didn't finish Symbols for the Etsy Pagan Team Challenge Healing Intent in time, and the cirtisolve method for transferring text to the symbols fabric hasn't worked

-sales in my Etsy shop and at the Olympia Weekend Market have been nonexistent

-I spent a long time sewing a 'quilt as you go' piece that didn't turn out to my expectations and remains in the 'yea, not likely to finish that one' pile

-my first Stonehenge Challenge piece for Bayview Quilting stalled

So the questions has become, "Where am I now and what do I need to do so I can get my hands in the works again? What am I stuck on?"

To get a handle on that I will look at a progress update. What HAVE I been doing?

1. I wrote a blog post for the Olympia Etsy Team blog about Bayside Quilting that was recently posted- Check it out!

http://artoly.blogspot.com/

It is about the Stonehenge Challenge piece I did finish! It is the Stonehenge panel cut and fused then stippled with my doodling. Though I am a bit disappointed only 3 people turned something in...I have since looked at the unfinished bargello elements and decided they are useable, need a nice border then quilting, so that is a salvaged disappointment! Whew!

2. Deep Spaces has more beads on it but it is to the point where I need to be resting it on the table for support so it limits when and where I can work on it. When something needs specifics like that it gets put at the bottom of the list.

3. Finally quilted Ronn's commission! I was unable to see the quilting, black on black, well enough to quilt with my random stippling design. Ended up just doing a random stipple, I am not as happy with it as I would have been if the thread had let me see it well enough to use my unique designs. It is now ready for embellishment and has stalled... I did hang the piece in his front room one evening so I could 'see' it in its future residence, that has helped some!

4. I have 3 ACEO series ready for embellishment! -Stonehenge with Standing stones, 7 I think -Seam Allowance Stonehenge Abstract about 17 and there are also 27 inchies cut of this! - I cut 4 from the Mirror Mirror practice layer and trimmed the edges

5. FINALLY got a picture of Char's quilt so I can actually get it in the mail... maybe this month? It is a California King size ~108 X 108 inches! I love the traditional Kaleidoscope pattern, like Storm at Sea it makes Circles visually out of Straight lines!

I have never worked a 12 step program through, though I have read a lot about how. This quilt is part of my personal recovery [restitution, making up for things I did or didn't do because alcohol and codependency were more important that people in my life]. Not an easy 'step' but a necessary one. There are a few other projects in this 'step', but for now it feels okay to move forward with other things.

So, there is no shortage of projects to pick up and fly with... just a question of why I am feeling stuck.... I have made a few lists of projects available to work on. Just a matter of getting all Nike, "Just Do It!"

Today I am going to go to Shipwreck Beads and wander around a bit. Sometimes I go and I want everything, other times I leave with nothing as I am struggling to 'see' what I want or need. I hope today I pick up a few embellishments for Ronn's Commission, might get me started on that project!

Midsummer is coming to an end, This weekend marks the quarter day between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox. I have been thinking about what I have 'planted' and what I am 'harvesting' as the Autumn approaches. The current economic and political climate causes me anxiety and I have become quite political on my personal facebook page!

I also started a fan page for my Etsy shop:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cobaltquilter/180414748682318

2 comments:

What is it that Jan(Art2) says? "Stick a pin in something" or something like that. Sometimes when I don't have a direction in mind, I just sit down with the clay and see what happens. I'm usually surprised. I guess the knitting might be like that. Just see what happens and it gets the juices flowing again. Good luck!!

I didn't see a way to comment on the private collection page so I'll just put it here. Those quilts are amazing. Truly pieces of art! Thanks for sharing them with us. I know you're proud to have them loved by so many people.